30 May 2010

We went out to some old friend's place for the weekend. Every Memorial Day weekend a great old friend, Mike, would hold a barbecue and general debauchery. We've seen them once since the girls were born. We went back again today and, I have to say, I'm little bit tipsy right now.

We saw lots of old friends, some with kids of their own. The kids ran around the swimming pool, picked oranges and lemons and flowers, ate hot dogs and hamburgers and blue cheese and potato salad. We had a grand old time and life is slowly, ever so slowly, coming back again.

Also we learned that the girls really are pretty good girls. They shared their food with friends and generally had a great time. Little pushing or shoving occurred. For 1 year olds (soon to be 2), there isn't much more to ask of them.

29 May 2010

The three day weekend is harder than a two day weekend. At least its much more tiring.

Yesterday Alisa said a five word, complete sentence: "I wanna go that way." And she pointed to the book store. Nice.

Leia has turned out to be such a sweetheart. Whenever Alisa falls and hurts herself she'll come running to her to comfort her. And she still always shares her food. If she finds something fun to play with she'll call over Alisa to share it with her. Such a sweetie!

18 May 2010

For those who have not experienced Sunn 0))), the videos barely due them justice. Sunn 0))) is probably one of the most intense, painful, exhilarating, hilarious music concerts I've ever attended. If you ever get a chance to see them, please do. But you absolutely must be right up front against the stage and NOT wear ear plugs. Without the ear pain the show loses its meaning.

I gotta get some pictures up soon. My computer is dead so it will be a while. Another Apple product meets an early demise. They ain't gettin' any more of my money (and this isn't at all about Flash.)

Now, then, on to the title of the post. We went to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk yesterday. Leia talks big and wants to get on rides; but, once on them she is easily frightened and doesn't enjoy them very much. Alisa, on the other hand, is a daredevil. She rode a race car ride four times, the last time with her hands in the air saying "Banzai". I thought the car ride was going to be too much for her; but, she wanted to keep going. The pictures need to be uploaded. She's so short you can't see her face; but, you can see little arms sticking up in the air.

03 May 2010

I changed Alisa's diaper this morning but didn't put her pajama pants back on after putting on a fresh diaper. I then went to put the diaper in the garbage in the garage. As I was opening the door to the garage Alisa asked me about her pants. I said, "Go ahead and put them on yourself if you want."

She promptly did so. She was very proud of herself. Now, of course, she insists on getting her own pants on every time. Still, that's another step toward the girls getting themselves ready in the morning and being more independent.

02 May 2010

Leia used chopsticks effectively (though I can't say well) for the first time today. She was too eager to eat to actually be proud of herself.

I've been trying to get the girls to understand the idea of numbers. Its a difficult concept. Just yesterday Alisa would randomly say "two" or "three" when exposed to two or three items. Today she was correct most of the time. I'm still not sure if it was chance or if she's grasped the idea of numbers. She can count to eleven or twelve; but, I don't think she understands the idea that she is counting. Its more like a string of words.

I cooked fish (gindara), beef with mushrooms (nameko) and broccoli for dinner tonight. Usually the girls eat mostly rice and a little bit of fish. So four pieces of fish is enough for the whole family. Tonight, the girls ate two pieces of fish each. Hirono and I didn't get any. Afterwards the girls were still screaming for more fish. We had to just pour the sauce (oil, fish drippings, dark soy sauce, sake, sugar, mirin) over their rice so they could at least taste the fish. I'm pleased they like my cooking; but, I'd actually like to be able to eat my own dinner as well!